LJ Interiors recently paired with a property developer who have been working for close to seven years on their beautiful Edward Milner Terrace development, from planning permission to architecture, to the building works and now finally to the home staging as the final touch. They reached out to us after seeing the projects we’d undertaken over the past two years across the south of England, from London to Brighton. We arranged meetings and viewed the developments in person and immediately fell in love with prospect of dressing such high class homes.
These six Dulwich townhouses each have five open-planned floors with a basement flooded with natural sunlight from the overhead sunroof, and a master bedroom with a balcony, as well as idyllic woods to the rear. Each house also has its own private garden and a communal area that fosters a sense of community; this is a thriving location close enough to commute to the city while still feeling like its own little country oasis. The hard work put into these developments was evident. We knew we had to bring the most out of this property – it’s what it deserved, and we were more than up to the challenge.
Through several meetings with the developer we tailored our proposals with their vision in mind, making the most out of the Scandinavian style of the build with furniture that was minimalistic and modern. We at LJ Interiors love working to a client’s vision, so after sending bespoke proposals and agreeing on furniture they wanted to feature in the property, we reached an agreement. Within a few weeks we were on site again, and in four days we delivered everything, installed and built all the furniture, decorated all the rooms with homely final touches to attract potential buyers and arranged for professionally taken photos to show the benefits of home staging.
We dressed two of the six properties: one as a full home staging package of every room, while the second focused only on the open-planned living areas. We chose a different colour scheme for every room – across all four lounges, four bedrooms, and the office – to make sure we showed off as many sides to the properties as possible, helping buyers see what they could do with the space.
The kitchens had plentiful storage space and countertops, so we added signature details – flowers, modern dishes, and artificial plants – to make it feel like a lived-in home. Without cluttering the area, and still maintaining the modern and minimalistic brief, we made use of every available space. One of our ideas was to add relaxation spot or desk spaces underneath the pen-planned staircases, which added a cosy atmosphere while also allowing viewers to see how they could utilise the space.
The developer had an idea to fill in the cut-out section in the living area wall, so we draped it with cushions and throws, making for an inviting lounging area that complimented the rest of the space. The before and after photos show just how much difference carefully selected furnishings makes to add some extra personality and functionality.
We played around with different colours for bedrooms, making sure that cushions, bedsheets, and wall art all matched to create a cohesive look. In the guest bedroom we embraced the minimalism of replacing wall art with an art deco style metal hanging. Similarly, none of the bedside tables and lamps were the same design, allowing for different options in each room.
For the office, we were asked to keep things simple, so we went with minimal but visually striking office furniture and filled the bookshelves with knick knacks, books, and plants to add character and match the nature from the gardens outside.
The kid’s bedroom was perhaps the most exciting part of the project. Sara, our co-founder, took on the design of the room herself, coming up with a gender neutral space filled with zebra patterns and wall-hangings, complimentary cushions, and a tepee built against the view of the forest outside. Every detail was carefully considered, from the arrangement of pillows to the location of storage boxes, all with the aim of appealing to prospective homeowners with young children. We wanted to make them feel like they were walking into a potential vision for their child’s future room.
The master bedroom and ensuite was our opportunity to bring out both masculinity and femininity: we dedicated a space to women’s perfumes and also added men’s suits and shoes in the wardrobe along the wall. For the ensuite, we added bathrobes, slippers, hand creams and other toiletries to help others imagine what it would be like to admire the view from their stunning bathroom. Some master bedrooms in the development were high up enough and built in a way that you could see the Shard poking out over the tree tops; it’s those perks and finer details that we wanted to replicate in our dressing of these scenic terraced houses.
If you’re a developer or a home owner looking to get your property staged to sell faster and at a higher price, we’d be happy to meet and discuss your project, just as we did with this development. We take pride in working to your specifications, so if you have anything in particular in mind, or if you would rather leave it in the hands of the home styling professionals, we’re confident we can offer something for you.
